These juicy Greek Lamb Meatballs filled with herbs, spices and feta cheese are easy to make and perfect for sharing! Serve as an appetizer or main meal.
Looking for more lamb recipes? Check my recipe archives.
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IN COLLABORATION WITH ‘LAMB – TRY IT LOVE IT’
I have partnered with “Lamb – Try It Love It” as one of their ambassadors for such a long time… It is HIGH TIME I shared a lamb meatball recipe!
This recipe reminds me of Greece, and of my mother who passed on to me her passion for cooking. With International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day falling so close together, I feel I should say a big overdue THANK YOU to her.
And maybe you could say a little thank you too, whenever you taste these juicy, plump lamb meatballs.
Greek Meatballs
I don’t get nostalgic about living in Greece very often, but I do miss the food, especially when it is sunny outside.
These lamb meatballs are full of spices, herbs, lemon zest and feta cheese which keeps them moist and juicy whether you fry them or bake them in the oven.
Briefly blitzing the onion, garlic, feta, herbs and bread in a mini chopper is the best way to make sure that everything blends into the lamb mince.
If you don’t own a food processor you can grate the onion, mince the garlic and finely chop all the remaining ingredients.
HOW TO MAKE LAMB MEATBALLS
Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Put the onion, garlic, herbs, bread and feta cheese in a mini chopper and process until a paste forms.
Add to the ground lamb in a large bowl together with the lemon zest, salt and spices. Mix well using your hands.
Start rolling the mince into small meatballs about the size of a walnut.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan or skillet. Fry the meatballs, in batches, for about 3 minutes on each side until golden. Don’t crowd them in the pan, they like a bit of space to brown properly.
Serve with the spiced yogurt (recipe below) or take a look at all my other suggestions.
OVEN BAKED MEATBALLS
Baking these meatballs in the oven is easier than frying them! Preheat the oven to 200C (400F) and line a large tray with baking paper.
Space the meatballs out on the tray, a few inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping the meatballs halfway through.
Serving suggestions
You can serve these keftethes (Greek for meatballs!) as an appetizer with a variety of small dips such as tzatziki sauce, spiced yogurt, hummus and pita bread. They also pair well with my orzo salad, herbed rice or Greek potato salad.
Share these with friends, preferably on a sunny day, and you too can be transported to Greece for a short spell.
Storing leftovers
Cool any leftover meatballs and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. You can enjoy them cold or warmed through in a pan or the microwave. You can even toss them into a simple tomato sauce and serve with pasta if you like.
Looking for more ground lamb recipes? Try my Shepherd’s Pie recipe, Korean spicy lamb noodles, lamb burgers.
Greek Lamb Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1 red onion , roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 75 g (½ cup) feta cheese cubed or crumbled
- 70 g (¾ cup) breadcrumbs one slice of toaster bread
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley
- 1 tbsp fresh mint
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp ground pepper
- 1 lemon , zest only (use the lemon to serve on side)
- 450 g (1 lb) lamb mince (ground lamb)
- 2 tbsp olive oil , if you are pan frying
Spiced Yogurt Sauce
- 250 g (1 cup) Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp sumac
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
To serve
- Pita bread
- red onion thinly sliced
- Handful pomegranate seeds (optional)
- Handful fresh parsley , roughly chopped, to serve
- Lemon wedges
- Olive oil to drizzle
Instructions
- Put the onion, garlic, feta cheese, bread and herbs in a mini chopper and process until a paste forms. Alternatively mince the onion and garlic using a grater, use Panko breadcrumbs, crumble the feta cheese using a fork and finey chop the herbs.
- Add to the ground lamb in a large bowl with remaining ingredients (salt, spices, pepper and lemon zest). Mix well using your hands.
- Start rolling the mince into small meatballs about the size of a walnut.
- Once all the mince is used up, heat a tablespoon of oil in a large pan. Fry the meatballs, in batches, for about 3 minutes on each side until golden.
OVEN BAKED MEATBALLS
- Preheat the oven to 200C (400F) and line a large tray with baking paper.
- Space the meatballs out on the tray, a few inches apart.
- Bake 15-20 minutes, flipping the meatballs halfway through, until golden and cooked through.
To serve
- Mix all the ingredients for the yogurt sauce in a bowl.
- Serve the meatballs with the yogurt and other dips such as hummus, tzatziki with the pita bread and lemon wedges on the side.
prwilson says
Looks sooo delicious.
Julia@ Vikalinka says
Lucy, this looks absolutely mouthwatering!
Gerri Tennant says
Lovely recipe will have to try it soon, thanks.
prwilson says
Looks terrific.
Kate@whatkatebaked says
I'm right there…in the sun, in a Greek taverna, the twinkling sea and tucking into some of your great recipes Lucy!
Lucy Parissi says
Bless you Kate – I think I need a huge dose of sunshine today and quite possibly a holiday to go with it!
Van @ The Taste Lab says
I love lamb, love it… and I never thought of putting mint into yogurt on my own. I've had it out before, but never thought about doing it at home. Looks like a great meal.
Lucy Parissi says
Me too – I tend to make the same dishes over and over though so this is me trying to think outside the box!
Sarah Barnes says
Lucy this looks totally delicious. I love Greek food, I've added it to my list to make very soon. Thank you.
Lucy Parissi says
Thanks Sarah. It really is delicious and actually very filling. I had forgotten how much I used to like fava – don't think I ever made it before this recipe!